Abrahamic Covenant - According to an unconditional
election, God gave the Jewish patriarch a covenant of promise
(Genesis 15:1-21;17). That covenant had to do with:
heir/descendents, physical land, as well as grace,
faith, and
with Christ (the Seed).

Grace - "...but God in his grace gave it to
Abraham through a promise" Galatians 3:18.

Faith - "He [Abraham] believed God, and it was
credited to him as righteousness...So those who have faith are blessed
along with Abraham, the man of faith" Galatians 3:6,9.

Christ - "The promises were spoken to Abraham
and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds,"
meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is
Christ" Galatians 3:16.

On the basis of grace, faith, and a
coming Christ, OT saints trusted and were
forensically "justified" (Romans 4:5) as well as supernaturally
empowered to walk morally. These were "children of the promise" (Romans 9:8).
Further, Abraham was told that "all the nations" would be
blessed on the basis of the principle of faith (Galatians
3:8). However, the Scriptures nowhere state that the blessings would be identical to his under the covenant.

Flesh, Sin in the Flesh - The term "flesh" (sarx) has a wide range
of meanings; however, more in the NT than in the OT. One must
carefully look to the context to determine the precise way the word
is being used. The first meaning is the biological sense: the
soft, tissue parts of the physical body of either animal or man.
This is most commonly found in the OT. Usage in the NT is more
diverse. The term "flesh" can be used to mean: 1) the human
body; 2) by synecdoche, mankind in the totality of all that
is essential to being--i.e., body, soul, and spirit; and frequently
in NT epistles 3) as synonymous with elements or the whole of our
ontological inheritance from the First Man--Adam (e.g., Romans 6:19;
7:5, 14, 18, 25; 8:3-13). A Greek language word tool, such as
Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, is
useful for confirming the precise meaning of a particular word in
context.

Kingdomization
- is the theological alchemy (typically using
a spiritualizing interpretational method--i.e. hermeneutic) by which
the Church is made to be the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies
concerning Israel's Messianic Kingdom. Under this schema, the
Church is made to be the mystery form of the Kingdom (Matt.
13), and the reign of the Messiah was inaugurated at Pentecost.
Not so!

To Israel the Lord Jesus is Messiah,
Immanuel, and King; to the Church He is Head, Life, and
Bridegroom. The covenants and destiny of Israel are earthly; the
covenant and destiny of the Church are heavenly.

As Bride and Consort the Church will
rightfully share with Him His reign (﻿2 Tim. 2:12﻿; ﻿Rev. 5:10﻿;
﻿20:6﻿). The purpose of this dispensation is not to form a
kingdom by securing subjects of the King: it is rather the
calling out and perfecting into His very image those who will be
co-reigners with Him in His yet future kingdom.

The Queen is never a subject of the King:
her position is to share with Him His authority and glory and to
rest in the bosom of the Bridegroom in the palace of the King.
(L. S. Chafer, The Kingdom in History and Prophecy, pp. 78,88)

For those who do not agree with Dr. Chafer﻿’s
two new covenants view, that position is acceptable. The Church,
being in Christ, is thereby in the Mediator, which is far better
- she does not need a covenant, new or old.

But for those who would in any way relate the
Church to the “﻿spiritual blessings﻿” of Israel﻿’s New Covenant,
that is not acceptable. This would be to descend to Israel﻿’s
OT/ Synoptic/ Kingdom level. Every one of her members being now
hidden with the Mediator in the Father, the heavenly Church has
no need for any aspect of Israel﻿’s earthly kingdom covenant.

We are come “﻿to Jesus the mediator of the
new covenant﻿” (﻿Heb. 12:24﻿). We are not come to the New
Covenant, but to Jesus the Mediator of it. We are in living
union with Him who is the Mediator; that is a much higher thing
than if merely come to the Covenant. The Lord Jesus will make
this New Covenant with Israel and Judah on earth. --H.H. Snell

Old Man/Old Self - The term "old man" has two meanings in Scripture.
From Genesis to Acts, it consistently means an elderly male.
Alternatively, the Risen Lord Jesus Christ via the Apostle Paul
introduced a new, theological (soteriological), meaning for the term
in Romans 6:6, Ephesians 4:22, and Colossians 3:9. A few Bible
versions translate the Greek "old self." Some background
information is necessary if one is to grasp and accurately
understand the term. Humans are composite beings made up of:
body, soul, and spirit. Congenitally, we
inherit life (animation) with unique ontological characteristics of
the First Adam, who became a sinner at the Fall. Thus, all
mankind are born sinners at their physical birth. Whether "old
man" or "old self," the NT meaning of the term is our entire
ontological identity as connected with the First Man--Adam.

Sin, Sin in the Flesh - The term "sin" is used extensively, as both a verb
and a noun, throughout the sixty-six books of the Bible and with a
wide range of meanings. In its broadest sense, SIN is that
which is morally unlike the character of God.
Sin is the opposite of divine virtue, and is best expressed by
created beings as an attitude of rebellion or autonomy to the claims
of the sovereign. Individual acts of SIN are SINS. Three
common definitions which fall short of the full biblical meaning
are: 1) a violation of divine law, 2) finiteness, or 3) selfishness.
Sin first entered the created sphere via a powerful, 'light-bearing'
angelic being (Lucifer) and spread to lesser spirit beings (angels >
demons), then to mankind via Adam and Eve.

Sin Nature - The sixty-six books of Scripture are
God's unique and exclusive revelation to mankind.
Through them, the solemn truths regarding mankind's fallen condition
(and redemption) are progressively revealed. And, it is in the
Apostle Paul's epistles that we receive the most detailed
understanding regarding mankind's sin nature. For
clarity however, we should seek to grasp this truth in context.

And the Lord God formed man of the
dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of
life; and man became a living being. Genesis 2:7 (NKJV)

The first man, Adam, received life
directly from the Creator. But in the Fall (his pivotal
disobedience), that animating life radically
changed from one of obedience toward the Creator, to one of
rebellion (sin) and every evil conceivable (sins).

Because the mind of the flesh is
enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God; for
neither indeed can it be... Romans 8:7 (Darby)

Subsequently, Adam's life was passed to his sons and daughters, and in turn
to every individual who has ever lived.

And Adam lived one hundred and
thirty years, and begot [a son] in his own likeness, after his
[Adam's]
image, and named him Seth. Genesis 5:3 (NKJV)

Therefore, just as through one man
sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death
spread to all men, because all sinned... Romans 5:12 (NKJV)

Theologian Dr. L. S. Chafer defined sin nature as the "[t]ransmitted sin
and its effects as manifest in a fallen nature, spiritual death, and
depravity," received "mediately from Adam through physical
generation." The nature of our life, beginning from conception
in the womb, from fallen Adam is sinful. Our sin nature is
not an entity, but rather
the life
we receive from the fallen Adam, the life
present at conception in the womb, our
congenital inheritance which has been past from Adam, generation to
generation. This life's propensity or
nature is that of "sin"--that which is wholly unlike the
moral character
of God. The three most common definitions are each inadequate
because they limit sin to: a) violation of divine law, b) finiteness, or c)
selfishness.

With the "new birth" comes new life, the
very life of the Lord Jesus Christ. Is the old life gone or
changed? No. The born-again Christian has two
sources of
life within, each inherently different. Christian
sanctification, the experience of progressively becoming more "like"
Christ, is the process of the new life emerging and the old life from Adam, progressively
being supressed. Romans chapter 7 chronicles the Apostle
Paul's struggle to live under law, with two sources of
life within. His experience was designed to teach
him (and us) an important lesson. Law gives strength to the Adamic nature, and for the new nature (life from Christ), law is
unnecessary.

Common Misunderstandings

Q. Does the believer have two
personalities?

An. No. Mankind is composed
of body, soul, and spirit (animation). The soul is the 'seat'
of our unique individual personality, incorporating intellect,
emotions, and volition. The new birth takes place in the realm
of spirit, not soul. Christian author Dr. Norman Douty
(1899-1993) said it best:

When we say that Christ's life
has come into us to displace ours, what do we mean? We do not
mean that this life of the Lord Jesus has come in to displace
our personality as such. I mean the poison which permeates our
personality, the poison of SIN which has degraded and defiled
and distorted our humanity.

It is not that this NEW LIFE of
the Lord Jesus comes in to take the place of our personality, to
take the place of our faculties [intellect, emotions, volition]
created by God, but He comes in to take the place of the sinful
life [inherited from the first Adam-Genesis 5:3] which is
operating in our personality and employing our faculties. The
vessel [body and soul] is the same, but the contents are
different--the same vessel, the same person, the same faculties,
but the contents different. No longer this sinful element, but
the very holy nature of the Lord Jesus Christ filling,
interpenetrating, permeating.

Our Father is not seeking to
abolish us as human beings [as in pantheism] and have the Lord
Jesus replace us. He is seeking to restore us as human
personalities so that we may be the vehicle through which Christ
will express Himself. Therefore you find that whenever God gets
hold of a man [or woman], instead of abolishing the personality,
He makes it what he intended us to be.

Redemption is the recovery of the
man, not the destruction of the man. And when the Lord Jesus in
us is brought to the place He is aiming for, there will not be
an atom [figurative speaking] of the old life [which flows from
the first Adam] left, but the MAN will be left--glorified in
union with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Q. Does having two natures
automatically make the Christian "schizophrenic."

An. Absolutely not. First, I
believe your use of the psychological term is inaccurate relative to
the subject at hand. Schizophrenia is defined as "a psychotic
disorder characterized by loss of contact with the environment, by
noticeable deterioration in the level of functioning in everyday
life, and by disintegration of personality expressed as disorder of
feeling and thought--as in hallucinations and delusions." None
of this is true of the born-again believer. Paul's discussion,
in Romans 7:7-25, is of the internal conflict he is having over his own behavior. Having inappropriately placed himself "under law" as
a rule of life, he discovered that a "law of sin," is associated with
the
life he inherited from Adam. Under law, the Adamic life is empowered to violate both his conscience and
override his
volition. No so-called 'free will' here!

...I am carnal, sold [as a slave]
under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand.
For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate,
that I do. Romans 7:14,15 (NKJV)

Some modern-day, psychiatric
professionals might rightfully consider the Apostle Paul's internal
struggle some form of pathology ("something abnormal" -
Merriam-Webster); however, so did the Apostle Paul! With a
heightened sense of moral conscience, Paul did not consider his
experience a permanent or acceptable condition--i.e., status quo for the
Christian life; rather, he sought and found deliverance!

O wretched man that I am!
Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank
God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7:24,25 (NKJV)